Hempstead, NY – Hofstra softball ace Julia Apsel delivered a 10 strikeout performance to cap off a 4-3 win at home for the Pride over North Carolina A&T to take a second consecutive Coastal Athletic Association series. The Pride's win pushes the team to 12-17 and 10-4 in the CAA following its fifth straight win, and the Aggies drop to 8-25 and 2-12 in conference play.
 
Apsel's 11th win of the season was her fifth consecutive win. It marks the longest Hofstra winning streak with the same pitcher earning the victory since Olivia Galati won seven-straight from May 3-17 during the 2013 season. The senior pitcher finished with a personal-best 10 strikeouts against the Aggies, picking up the most strikeouts by a Hofstra pitcher in a game since Haley Venturini struck out 12 North Carolina A&T batters on April 1, 2023.
 
Following a pair of scoreless innings for both sides and a bases loaded jam for Apsel in the Pride in the third inning, Becca Vaillancourt led off the bottom of the third with a solo home run to give Hofstra a 1-0 lead. Apsel and the Hofstra defense continued to hold North Carolina A&T in check, escaping another two-out, bases loaded situation in the fifth inning with a terrific diving catch at third base by Mackenzie Fitzgerald.
 
Facing a two-out situation in the bottom of the sixth, Dahlia Palacio and Kayla Wilson reached base on back-to-back singles, and a walk from Kayla Wilson loaded the bases for the Pride, and a five-pitch walk by Alanna Morse plated the second run of the day. Chelsea Manto added a pair of insurance runs with a single just over the Aggies second baseman to make it a 4-0 lead.
 
After North Carolina A&T loaded the bases on three consecutive walks, Makayla Layton laced a single into left field to score two runs and cut Hofstra's lead to two. After a fly out to center advanced an Aggie baserunner to third, Jamari Moss singled through the gap in the middle of the infield to score North Carolina A&T's third run of the inning to make it a one-run difference. Apsel recovered and got the final two outs by way of strikeout and a pop out.
 
Vaillancourt went 2-3 at the plate with an RBI on her solo home run, while Manto, Morse, and Palacio delivered the other hits for the Pride, and Morse drew two of Hofstra's five walks on the afternoon.
 
Hofstra's series against North Carolina A&T concludes on Sunday, April 7, at 12 p.m. from Bill Edwards Stadium.
 
NOTES:
-Hofstra is now 3-2 all-time against North Carolina A&T.
-Pitching in seven innings, Apsel has crossed 100 innings pitched for the second consecutive season.
-Vaillancourt has now delivered a hit in eight consecutive games.
-North Carolina A&T stranded 10 runners on base against the Pride.